Lammy announces conditional pardon for Ruth Ellis, in recognition she was hanged for murder triggered by abuse
Pam Cox (Lab) said Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be executed in this country. She was hanged in 1955.
She said the case was “a haunting reminder of a time when our justice system ignored the realities of domestic abuse and control”.
She said Ellis’s relatives have been campaigning for a posthumous pardon.
They showed the importance of the need to free women “from devasting cycles of abuse.
In response, Lammy had an announcement to make.
I have the honour to say that His Majesty the King has accepted our advice to grant Ruth Ellis a conditional pardon – the last woman to be hanged.
While the pardon does not claim she was innocent of killing David Blakely, it replaces the death penalty with a sentence of life imprisonment to recognise a profound injust in this exceptional case.
Lammy said he hoped this would bring some closure to members of Ellis’s family watching in the gallery.
Key events
Emily Darlington (Lab) asked Lammy if the government would back an amendment she has tabled to the representation of the people bill intended to stop deepfakes being used to mislead voters. She said her law would “protect the UK from these destructive tactics used by foreign states who wish to see our democracy weaker”.
Lammy said he agreed that legal protections must keep pace with evolving threats.
Lammy says Hillsborough law bill due back in Commons ‘in coming days’
Cooper asks for an assurance that the security services will be fully covered by the Hillsborough law.
Lammy says he will arrange a briefing for Cooper on the bill. He says it will be back in the Commons “in the coming days”.
(The bill has been held up because the government has not yet reached agreement with campaigners over the extent to which the bill will fully apply to the security services.)
Lammy refuses to support Lib Dem call for Farage’s resignation to be blocked until standards inquiry over
Daisy Cooper, the deputy Lib Dem leader, asks if the government will stop Nigel Farage resigning until the inquiry into him is over. She jokes about how he used to take the view “leave means leave”. And he asks if the government will back a “Clacton clause” (presumably when the writ for the byelection is moved) saying the inquiry into Farage can continue while he is out of parliament.
Lammy says Farage has serious questions to answer. Labour won’t be part of the byelection “circus”, he says. He suggest the byelection will be a two-horse race between Farage and Count Binface.
He does not address the two direct questions Cooper asked.
John Grady (Lab) asks about Glasgow city council’s record on dealing with sexual abuse against children.
Lammy says the council should accept the recommendations of the inquiry into this case. And he says the Scottish government should consider setting up a public inquiry.
Cleverly says the government is stripping money from where it is needed and spending it on the welfare bill, which has gone up by £20bn this year alone.
He claims that when he was home secretary police numbers were at a record level. Now they are going down, he says.
He says Andy Burnham should condemn Lammy’s plan for jury trials.
Lammy says Cleverly can’t count. The country lost 16,000 police officers under the Tories, he says.
He defends the government’s record on a range of policies, and says he will take it over the Tories’ any day of the week.
Cleverly says Lammy has not apologised, and has not said rapists and paedophiles won’t be released early.
He says Lammy’s plan to limit the use of jury trials is also wrong.
Lammy says he has no plan to scrap trial by jury. Cleverly should “get on the detail”, he says.
He says there is a threshold change.
Margaret Thatcher and David Cameron also changed jury trial policy, he say.
Cleverly says Lammy is also releasing dangerous prioners by accident. Last year Lammy claimed he had got a grip of accidental releases. But there have been more now under Labour than in the entirety of the last parliament.
Lammy says “this is rich” coming from the Tories. They wrecked neighbourhood policing. And they let out prisoners in secret, he says.
Cleverly says Lammy is a “good man” and he must know this policy is wrong.
If he won’t change course, will he at least guarantee that not one rapist or paedophile will be released early this year.
Lammy says Cleverly has not said what the Tories would do. They released 10,000 prisoners early “on the sly”. There was no impact assessment.
He says mitigating factors are in place.
Cleverly says 50,000 prisoners have been released early in two years under Labour.
And he says Lammy refused to apologise to victims.
He quotes a victim saying finding out her attacker is getting out early means she can barely sleep.
Lammy must know the policy is “wrong and dangerous”, Cleverly says.
Lammy says the Tories had their own early release schemes. He says 10,000 people were released early. They kept announcing one after another. And then Rishi Sunak called an early election, apparently because jails were full.
Lammy says all MPs want to see offenders locked up. But for that to happen, the government needs prisoner places.
James Cleverly asks if Lammy will apologise to the victims of rapists and paedophiles who are being released early as a result of Lammy’s policy.
Lammy starts by attacking Cleverly’s record in government.
On prisoners, he says ever decision taken by the government has been influenced by concerns about public safety.
He says the Tories closed 23 prisons.
That is why an early release scheme is needed, he says.
Jeff Smith (Lab) asks Lammy if he welcomes the pledge by Bev Craig, Labour’s candidate in the Greater Manchester mayoral election, to give free bus travel to all 11 to 18-year-olds.
Lammy praises Craig and says Labour MPs will want to support her.
